Discover How You Can Benefit

4CNW will grant you financial assistance in order to bring in new types of creative expertise to help grow business and create competitive advantage at a reduced cost. We want to improve your bottom line by helping you with ideas - as ideas are key to unlocking potential and driving growth. Creativity leads to ideas, ideas lead to innovation and innovation leads to growth.

Participation in the programme can help you to;

Accelerate innovation for your business by enabling projects that would not otherwise happen, or bringing forward projects that might have happened much later

Access creative thinking to develop new processes, services and or products to a higher standard

Acquire new skills transferred from your creative partners; i.e. how to exploit the potential of new media to drive sales and target new markets

Businesses with a challenge and creative professionals with expertise interested in this opportunity are invited to submit an online application from here.

Register Your Challenge

In Stage 2 of the journey, you will register your Challenge by completing and submitting the online Application Form. We want you to identify challenges to innovate your company’s products, processes, services or business model.

You will be able to see examples of the type of challenges that are suitable on our FAQ for Industry page, and remember to check your eligibility against the criteria .

Your local Broker will also be hosting Discovery Events for businesses and creatives on the following dates to give all interested parties further information on how to apply. Follow the links below to find out how to book your free place, or email your local broker.

Discovery events for businesses and creatives are being held in January 2013 to give all interested parties further information. Please follow the links below to discover more about the events for business in your area:

Date for your diary: Deadline for submission of online applications for Industry is 4pm on Monday 18th February 2013.

Selection & Assessment

An Independent Expert Panel will assess all applications on behalf of the Creative State North West PPP in March 2013. Panel members represent Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland and cover a wide range of professional expertise, including business development, enterprise, innovation, creative industries and technology. Business challenges will be scored against specific assessment criteria outlined below.

Assessment Criteria

The Criteria used for assessment of business challenges submitted is as follows;

Innovation Challenge
Development of new products/processes/services
New uses of existing products/processes/services
Business Model Innovation

The panel will also assess recommend what type of creative skills best meet the business challenges shortlisted for the voucher award– e.g. that a designer and film producer are required for a tourism challenge.

Applicants should note that this is a competitive process and only the best challenges will be awarded funding.

A two stage selection and assessment process has been agreed as follows;

a) Regional Assessment Panels representing Ireland North West, Northern Ireland and Scotland will meet on the 5th and 6th of March 2013.

b) The Independent Expert Panel will meet on the 22nd March 2013.

Date for your Diary: All applicants will be notified of the results the week commencing 2nd April 2013. Successful shortlisted applicants will then be invited to participate in Stage 4.

Matchmaking

Matchmaking and brokering successful collaborations is a central and compulsory part of the 4CNW business support model. Through the matchmaking process businesses will be introduced to three creative suppliers from which the business will select the supplier they wish to contract.

The process kicks off for businesses with preparation a project brief which will be circulated to all suitable creative suppliers on the 4CNW Creative Directory with the skills recommended by the expert panel to solve the challenge. Creative Suppliers will be given one week to prepare and submit their (anonymous) written proposal in response to the project brief. Businesses will identify up to three creatives from the submitted proposals who will be invited to pitch their offer directly. Arrangements for the introduction of shortlisted creative suppliers will be made by the regional Broker. Businesses will have until the 8th May to make their final choice of supplier and to notify their local Broker of their choice.

Dates for your diary: The 4CNW Matchmaking Process will take place between the 3rd April and 3rd May 2013.

Business introductions to shortlisted Creative Suppliers are scheduled to take place between the 29th April and 1st of May.

Shortlisted industry applicants along with their chosen creative supplier will be invited to a Match Made Networking Event on the 20th June 2013.

Collaboration

As a Talent Voucher recipient, you will attend a kick off meeting with your local Broker in mid May and draw down the initial 20% of your allocated funding. At this stage you will enter into a formal contract with your selected creative service provider.

You will also get the following supports:
One-to-one mentoring support
Helpdesk support from your local broker
Access to case studies on similar collaborations

Date for your diary: Mid May 2013 – Kick Off Meeting dates will vary across participating regions so check with your local Broker for more information.

Evaluation and Feedback

After a three-month period you should have completed your challenge and will then move to Evaluation and Feedback. This will be done in three ways:

You will have a one-to-one review call with your local Broker

You will be required to submit a short evaluation report on your 4CNW Talent project collaboration. We will assist you with content.

You will contribute to a process of sharing experiences and learn what worked well, and what could be improved upon, in the context of the independent evaluation of the overall pilot programme.

Once the project is completed you will draw down the remaining 80% of funding.

Date for your diary: 2nd September 2013 Submission of evaluation report and draw down of final funding

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This website has been produced as part of the European Creative Industries Alliance/European Mobile and Mobility Industries Alliance. The views expressed in this report, as well as the information included in it, do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the European Commission and in no way commit the institution.

This website is financed under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) which aims to encourage the competitiveness of European enterprises.